Business briefs: United Tech set to furlough 5,000 workers

United Technologies Corp., a supplier of helicopters and jet engines to the U.S. military, said an extended government shutdown would force furloughs of as many as 5,000 workers. The company is poised to lay off about 2,000 Sikorsky Aircraft employees in Connecticut, Florida and Alabama on Monday, according to a statement. Work on Black Hawk helicopters slowed after Defense Department inspectors stopped work Tuesday, United Technologies said. Another 2,000 workers would be furloughed at Pratt & Whitney, which manufactures engines for Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 fighter jet, and at UTC Aerospace Systems, a maker of landing gear and flight control systems, if the shutdown lasts into next week.

GM gives family discounts to nieces, nephews

General Motors Co. extended rebates to more employee family members on purchases of its vehicles and boosted the discounts after the largest U.S. automaker’s first monthly sales decline in more than a year. The Employee Discount Program now extends to workers’ aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, Mark Reuss, GM’s president of North America, wrote in an e-mail to customers. The average rebate, included in a chart from the company, rose by $787 to $3,355 per vehicle.

Private sector job growth weak, ADP says

The private sector added a disappointing 166,000 net new jobs last month and significantly revised down its estimate for August in a sign that labor market growth weakened through the summer, payroll processing firm ADP said. The figure for last month was below analysts’ projections that the closely watched report would show that businesses added 180,000 jobs in September. September was an improvement from the previous month, but only because ADP revised its August figure down to 159,000 from the initially reported 176,000.

Homebuilders cut forecast for housing starts

The National Association of Home Builders lowered its forecast for U.S. single-family home starts this year and next as higher interest rates slow the pace of growth in the housing market. Single-family home starts are expected to be 629,000 this year, lower than an April estimate of 672,000, the Washington-based group said in a report. In 2014, the total is expected to be 826,000, compared with the prior forecast of 858,000. Work began on about 537,000 houses in 2012.

Re/Max shares rise 23% on first day of trading

Shares of Re/Max Holdings Inc., a franchiser of real estate brokerages, jumped on their first day of trading after raising $220 million in an initial public offering. The Denver-based company sold 10 million shares for $22 each, Re/Max said in a statement, after offering them for $19 to $21. The stock gained 23 percent to $27 in trading Wednesday. Re/Max is among property companies raising funds as the U.S. housing market rebounds. Home prices and sales are climbing following the worst crash since the Great Depression.

Coal-state Democrats who are threatening a government shutdown over health benefits for retired miners should "take yes for answer" and stop stalling a short-term spending bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Friday.

Environmental Protection Agency officials say the federal agency's tests have discovered elevated levels of lead in drinking water in a northwestern Indiana city where contamination already has forced some residents to move.